The Big Parade of Comedy (1964) User Reviews

A funny stroll down memory lane

[Scrooge-3 · 5/10 · 30 June 1999]

Many clips from the silent era through MGM's heyday. The editing could have been tighter--some sequences went on too long and others way too short--but I suspect the filmmakers wanted to make sure they didn't leave out any of the stars. Nevertheless, this is overall a funny stroll down memory lane.

What's So Funny

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 16 August 2009]

Funny stuff, but arranged without much rhyme or reason, by compiler Robert Youngson. Obviously, the first limitation is that the clips are exclusively from one studio. Moreover, there is no real attempt to present the very best of what was available at MGM. "The Big Parade of Comedy" is neither a definitive look at MGM's comedy pictures, nor does it present a comprehensive look at any one comedian.

Narrator Les Tremayne is helpful identifying performers who may not be familiar to modern audiences - along with top-billed stars Clark Gable and Greta Garbo, who co-sizzled for real in "Susan Lenox" (1931). Most haphazard is the tacking on, without explanation, of some Dave O'Brien comedy shorts. The material is good, but should only be considered a sample. Seeking the original works is imperative.

***** The Big Parade of Comedy (9/23/64) Robert Youngson ~ Les Tremayne, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Dave O'Brien

Funny people

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 4 November 2006]

This uneven documentary by Robert Youngson, basically showcases MGM's comic talented stars in films produced at the studio. Some performers fare better than others, as we keep hoping for more. One can guess because the limitations of the format, it could only include just so much when there were so many stars from where to choose from.

There is a wonderful sequence of Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel with Lupe Velez. The comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are seen in scenes from "Rio Rita". The Marx Brothers classic "Going West" train routine is shown. Best of all, in our humble opinion, Greta Garbo laughing and having a good time in "Ninotchka" and "Two Faced Woman". The wonderful Dave O'Brien is also showcased doing his Pete Smith character.

William Powell, Jean Harlow, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, and the others in the film are seen at some of the funniest moments of their MGM's heyday.

Uneven compilation

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 25 May 2020]

While this compilation of comedy scenes from movies ranging from the silent era to roughly the 1950s can serve as a good primer for newbies in getting a taste of screen comedy and some of its legends, for more experienced viewers it is hampered by two main problems: 1) time constraints, 2) the fact that it has to focus by definition on the MGM films made by these stars when their best work might have been in other studios. The 1st problem is evident, for example, in the screen time of people like Cary Grant, Lucille Ball and Myrna Loy, which is under one minute long - put together! The 2nd problem is clear when for example the Marx Brothers are respresented exclusively by one of their weakest films, "Go West" (even for their MGM period, that's a strange choice). Still, there's some good stuff in there, like Laurel and Hardy meeting up with leggy, fiery Lupe Velez. **1/2 out of 4.

Laughs Without Comedians

[Grendel1950 · 21 October 2019]

This picture is the prime example of how MGM ruined some of the greatest comedians in film. It had the best writers, best directors, best cinematographers, and they mistakenly thought dropping comedians like the Marx Brothers and, most lamentably, Keaton, into their studio films and expected superior results. They forgot, or refused to acknowlegde, that there was such a a thing as a Keaton comedy, or Laurel and Hardy routines. Look at the cast list here; how many real comedians are there? Very few. We get comic bits from mostly straight actors who had the chance to say or do something funny in an MGM movie. Are there laughs? Sure, and if you're looking for comedy you can find it here. If you're looking for a Big Parade of Comedians, you'd better go elsewhere.

Nice compilation of MGM comedy

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 23 October 2019]

This is a film you can't go wrong with. MGM compiled a salute to the comedy that MGM brought to the big screen over a 40 year period. You'll see its biggest stars performing and they did boast they had more stars than there are in heaven.

Some were admittedly shoehorned in. Case in point Charlie Chaplin who had his own United Artists at the time. He makes a guest appearance in a Marion Davies film.

Or WC Fields who toiled for Paramount and Universal. He did one memorable Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield.

The comedians share equally with MGM stars of drama in some of their comedies. Case in point Clark Gable in Too Hot To Handle and Spencer Tracy in Libeled Lady. And of course William Powell and Myrna Loy.

You can't go wrong with The Big Parade Of Comedy.

A fantastic cure for insomnia.

[mountainkath · 3/10 · 29 August 2009]

Wow. This collection of clips was disjointed, not funny at all and edited extremely poorly.

Carole Lombard was only shown in one brief clip. She was an extremely talented comedienne and this film did not do her justice at all.

The Jean Harlow clips shown were adequate and they did show one of her funniest scenes (with Marie Dressler in Dinner At Eight).

Cary Grant was shown only briefly. The man was much funnier than the clips led us to believe.

I could go on and on, but my point would remain the same: don't waste your time on this movie. Not only is it poorly made, it is also insanely boring.

From the bad old days.

[max von meyerling · 4/10 · 1 January 2006]

Youngson must have been the last real movie ghoul, making a living by cutting up old films into virtual guitar picks. Good bad or indifferent, the only reason for inclusion in this compilation seems to be he could get his hands on a print and then chop chop chop, funny or not. It reminds me of Glenn L. Martin delivering a plane to the Army in WW2 (the B-26 aka The Widowmaker) which kept killing its crews. Martin explained that it met the contractual specifications. This film meets somebody's contractual specifications and made what's called a 'nice show business dollar', but it is a pile of junk whose stink is even more loathsome considering the talent which gets ripped off.

Normally I would just leave this alone except for the fact that this film contains the most perfunctory and execrable film lyric of all time. In the song, which is introducing a segment on Robert Benchely, the lyric goes- "Robert Benchley was a funny man/ A funny man was he". Certainly a new low in the lack of imagination department. Robert Youngson was a cheap-son-of-a-bitch/ a cheap-son-of-a-bitch was he. Of course Youngson didn't hire a lyricist but wrote the 'lyrics' himself, just like he wrote (oh, that narration would be rejected by Hallmark as soporific drivel, and it just goes on and inanely on), produced., directed, did the visual effects and titles, himself. His wife did the research. This was just one in a series of compilation films he did coming from the short film assembly lines which died in the early 50s. Insteed of going in to TV he did this.

Now, I believe Youngson has been completely superseded by the age of film preservation and the like of Turner Classics and various DVD distributors though I guess he'll have his product in 99¢ bins for a long time to come. And not a moment too soon.

clips of mgm's films & routines stapled together

[ksf-2 · 2/10 · 4 August 2009]

A better title would have been "Our Big Stars and Some Special Effects "... Much of it is just film run backward and sight gags... ie the train scenes at the beginning... smoke going back into the stack, and when the handcart gets out of the way at the last second at the bottom of the mountainside, watch for the big puff of sand right BEFORE the cart moves.. not after. This review would probably be more interesting for those who haven't seen the specific films highlighted here. It's a whole bunch of short clips from their big films. Written, directed, produced by Robert Youngson, who even wrote the lyrics to a lot of the accompanying (bad) songs to the clips. Melodies by Bernard Green... must have taken them about eight minutes during the lunch hour to come up with those songs. Gotta mark this one down... you can skip it if you've seen most of the films involved.

Random compilation with few laughs

[kapnkirk · 4/10 · 25 October 2001]

MGM's Big Parade of Comedy is just a random compilation of comedy clips with no point that don't do their stars any justice. They've all appeared in funnier films at other studios. They serve up probably the worst clip from the worst Marx Bros. film (Go West). Couldn't they have used A Night At The Opera instead (that was an MGM film)? They just dredge out any comedy star who just happened to appear in an MGM film - they even dish up a silent Joan Crawford film (now there's a comedienne). The only moments of levity for me were when they showed a compilation of Pete Smith comedy shorts (with Dave O'Brien). It also ends abruptly. I'm thankful someone had the good judgement to put it out of its' misery.

comedy recycling

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 6 November 2023]

This is MGM pulling comedy clips from their vault. It starts from the silent era up to 1948. A narrator describes the silent films. I recognize some of the clips. The big names are Buster Keaton and one non-Tramp Charlie Chaplin scene. It's nice to see some names that I don't know. After twenty minutes, it's on to the talkies. I still don't recognize a few of these comedic actors, but at least, they get to talk. Throughout the compilation show, the jokes aren't hitting as hard with the clips being all cut up. It can feel like the narrator is explaining the jokes. This may interesting introductory show for newbies, but that's about it.

"In short, I have arrived!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 21 June 2016]

I was surprised to learn this compilation was put together in 1964, by that time MGM should have been able to put together a more coherent and cohesive product. It's got plenty of comedy stars as the title implies, but it's put together rather randomly and with no expressed central idea. Beginning with the silent films of the 1920's, the picture wends it's way through the Thirties right up to a Red Skelton picture made in 1948 - "A Southern Yankee". Whereas the early film clips presented were short and to the point, the longer this went on it seemed like the segments got longer and longer for each picture selected as representative for their respective stars. This wasn't what I was expecting, and actually thought it would be more like another picture I just recently watched called "Hollywood My Home Town" (1965) which featured a lot more candid clips of celebrities of the era 1927 through the early Sixties. If you're a major movie fan you've probably caught many of the movies on display here, but at least in my case the picture provided the inspiration to record a film offered on Turner Classics that I'll get to in due course. I've seen Marie Dressler's name pop up more and more on my radar lately, so I'll be looking forward to her team up with Wallace Beery in 1930's "Min and Bill".